Speech and Language Therapy for Anyone, Anywhere – From Cities to Refugee Camps

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n the UK alone, one in ten children enter school with a speech, language or communication need – that means two to three students in every classroom. The foundation for future literacy skills – and thus the ability to function seamlessly in society – starts here, and having access to the right skilled professionals often makes all the difference.

In the UK, 1 in 10 children enter school with a speech, language or communication need. That means 2 to 3 students in every classroom. Tweet This Quote

According to Zoe Peden, founder of Iris Speaks, it can take up to 18 months to see a National Health Service speech and language therapist in the UK because there’s only one therapist for every 4,765 members of the population. Or, if you have the means, you can pay 150 pounds per hour for a private therapist. But this issue isn’t isolated to the UK. In fact, in many emerging markets, the situation is much worse. In Kenya, there’s one therapist for 4 million people.

Iris Speaks is a platform that will provide remote speech and language therapy to enable families to access it from the comfort of home, or in difficult to reach areas. As Zoe mentions, language and vocabulary differ from place to place, but the intervention remains the same regardless of geography.